


Zimbits August/September Updates

by forabeatofadrum (maanorchidee)



Series: Zimbits Updates [11]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Aftermath of Coming Out, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Crack, Drabble Collection, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-01 22:37:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16774303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maanorchidee/pseuds/forabeatofadrum
Summary: So. It's been a while.





	1. Sticker

**Author's Note:**

> I LIVE.
> 
> I know it’s end November by now and that I’ve skipped the drabbles for 4.5 and 4.6 and 4.7, but I honestly had a huge writer’s block and even though these small silly prompts aren’t literature and high quality, I want writing to be fun! 
> 
> Around the end of October, my writer’s block started to break and I told myself: “y’know… no rush. I’ll do those other Zimbits updates before 4.8 appears. Anyway, Ngozi always gives us a week’s notice before the update.”
> 
> Ah. I just found out that the comic will update tomorrow. So here I go.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack being the first openly bi NHL player does not turn him into a charismatic person.

Jack’s not known for his charisma. In fact, he’s known for his awkwardness during interviews and events, his short and automatic responses to questions, and his avoidance of the press.

Him coming out doesn’t change that.

Jack understands that his coming out is a big deal. He’s the first openly bi player in the NHL. He’s always dreamed of going down in hockey history for something extraordinary, but it wasn’t this.

(Besides, when he was younger, he’d always hoped and dreamed that the NHL would be more accepting by the time he’d start playing. He’d hoped he would join a couple of others guys out of the closet. Dreams don’t always come true.)

So Jack knows that his coming out is a big deal. He knows that people expect him to be a sort of poster boy for LGBTQ acceptance in the world of professional athletes. And Jack tries. He truly tries. When he’s asked about it, he tells how he hopes that other young queer kids can see that hockey is still a sport for them. He puts a lot of effort in You Can Play. Jack truly tries to show kids that it gets better.

But he’s still an awkward mess. And he still has short and automatic responses (”Hockey is for everyone. It’s fun.”). He avoids the press more than before, now that they’re also trying to cash in on his personal life.

Jack doesn’t want to be the guy who gives in depth inspirational speeches at every event. He just wants to show his support for his community in his other community, but he is too much of an awkward mess to become the inspirational LGBTQ player some people hope for. He just wants to show his support in a small way.

Bitty finds a solution one day. He’s on a spending spree on Etsy (to avoid writing his thesis) and Jack sees something.

“Hang on, go back.”

Bitty looks up in surprise. Usually when he’s in a shopping spree, Jack doesn’t pay attention to what Bitty’s looking at. They both know that in the end, Bitty won’t buy anything, since he’s only browsing to avoid his responsibilities.

“What is it, honey?”

“I see something I like,” Jack says and Bitty moves a bit, so that Jack can sit next to him behind the laptop.

“Oh?”

* * *

“Hey George, it’s me, Jack. Hi! Yes, yes, I’m doing fine. No, there’s nothing wrong. You gotta stop assuming something’s wrong every time I- okay, I am aware I never call to casually catch up. No, but I do have a question. Can I wear stickers on my helmet?”

* * *

Jack is still an awkward mess and he will probably always be an awkward mess. Jack doesn’t really mind. He doesn’t need to give a speech every time people ask him about his sexuality. He wears a pride sticker and a bi flag sticker on his helmet at every game with pride.

That’s enough.


	2. Bar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bitty regrets going out with the team, but then he bumps into someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, every now and then, AO3 notifies me that a new person has given kudos on all my entries in this silly series. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!

Bitty has no idea how he ended up in a bar in the middle of Boston with a drunk Ransom and a worried Holster.

“Dude, he’s not breathing!” Holster yells.

Ransom is very clearly, very visibly breathing, but Holster is just a bit tipsy himself. Shitty tells him so.

“No, dude, Shits. I feel no pulse!” Holster says.

Lardo rolls her eyes. “Maybe it’s because you’re touching his leg instead of his wrist of neck or chest? Jesus Christ, Holtzy, this is why Ransom is the medic.”

“Bro, he’s even awake. He’s blinking. Chill,” Nursey says.

Bitty does know how he ended up in this bar, but he doesn’t know why Ransom is so drunk. Shitty had invited all of them to visit him in Boston before the new year starts. It’ll be Shitty’s senior year and he’s planning on graduating in style.

So in his eyes, his awesome senior year started early in the summer, and that’s why they’re all camping in Shitty’s Boston home and that’s also why they’re all in a bar in Boston.

It still doesn’t explain Ransom’s drunken state.

Bitty has honestly no idea why he’s even here. He’s never been much of a bar guy. It’s crowdy and loud and he’d rather get drunk with his friends while watching Golden Girls or Murder, She Wrote.

He’s almost about to ask Shitty if it’s okay if he heads out when he bumps into someone else.

“Oh, sorry.”

The man apologizes and wow. His eyes are pretty. Bitty blinks a couple of times and the man frowns.

“Uhm. Hi?”

“Oh, hi!” Bitty says. It must look really weird to this man. Suddenly, a small blond guy is just gaping at him and blinking. “Sorry, I was a bit lost-” in the blue of your eyes “-thought.”

“Anything interesting?” the man asks and smiles.

Bitty rolls his eyes. “One of my friends is drunk and one of my other friends is convinced the first friend is dead, even though he is-” Bitty turns around to look “-literally talking right to him now.” 

Ransom, still drunk, is trying to prove a very stressed Holster that he is indeed alive. The others all can’t hide their amusement. Chowder is filming.

“Honestly, I am not a big fan of bars, or at least, not these crowdy bars.” Bitty shrugs. He has no idea what they’re talking about, but he wants to keep Pretty Guy talking.

“Me neither,” the man says, “I’m just here to keep my friends in tow. I don’t drink.”

Suddenly, they hear Ransom yell: “Holy motherfucking shitballs, that’s Alexei Mashkov!”

Everyone in the bar turns to Ransom, who is openly pointing at another man standing at the bar, who waves awkwardly. Dex is trying to make Ransom stop pointing.

The man at the bar then smiles brightly and he makes his way to Bitty’s friend.

“Oh, damage control time,” Pretty Guy sighs, “Excuse me.”

Bitty watches Pretty Man carry his friend over his shoulder. “Alright, Tater Tot, we know you should head back to the hotel.”

“Zimmboni, I am not drunk. I am Russian, I hold liquor. Let me talk to big fan.”

“You’re gonna embarras youself, Tater.”

Meanwhile, Ransom is watching the scene unfold in awe. Pretty Guy drops his friend off somewhere and Bitty thinks that’s the end of it. Goodbye Pretty Guy, you will be missed.

Bitty starts making his way back to the table his friends are sitting at, so that he can tell Shitty he’s heading out, but then someone taps him on the shoulder.

It’s Pretty Guy.

Bitty knows it’s really cliché to think “oh my god, he came back”, but oh my god, he came back.

“Sorry about that,” Pretty Guy says, “My friends are usually not that exuberant. I think. Uhm, where were we?”

“Oh, my friends are wild, but Ransom, the ‘dead’ one, is in an extreme mood. But we have each other’s backs. If we think one of us is going to far, we’ll put an end to it.”

Which sometimes is difficult with Shitty, but they don’t want alcohol poisoning in their team.

“Yeah, it’s a bit too much in here,” Pretty Guy says and he looks around. There are people everywhere. “I’m Jack, by the way.”

“Eric, but everyone calls me Bitty.”

“Bitty?”

“Hockey nickname?” Bitty waves it away. It’s not that big of a deal.

“You like hockey?” Jack’s face lights up.

“Yeah, do you?”

Jack has an amused look on his face. “Do I like hockey?”

Bitty doesn’t really understand why it’s so amusing to Jack, but he doesn’t care. His face still looks gorgeous.

Bitty hasn’t had that much too drink, but he’s feeling particulary confident today. 

“There’s a coffee shop at the corner of this street. I know it’s still open. We can go there if you want to, to talk in a less overwhelming place.”

“Sounds great,” Jack says, “Gimme a sec to tell my friends that I’m heading out. Mart- I mean, Sebastien is also sober tonight, and Randall doesn’t drink that much, so I won’t be missed.”

Bitty does that as well. After reassuring his friends that he’ll have his phone with him and that he’ll text the moment he needs someone to pick him up, they tell him to have fun with this new date.

“It’s not a date,” Bitty says, but he blushes, and Lardo whistles.

Bitty gets his jacket and he sees that Jack’s already waiting for him at the door. Maybe tagging along to this bar wasn’t a bad idea.

He’s almost out of earshot when he hears a faint “Hey, isn’t that Jack Zimmermann?” but Bitty doesn’t get it and he doesn’t care. He’s going to have a wonderful date.


	3. Shower curtain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bitty's on his way to visit Jack in Providence for the first time when he realises something's missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First two chapters of this entry: actual stories that I put a lot of thought and effort in.
> 
> Last chapter of this entry: this.

Jack had insisted on picking Bitty up from the airport, but Bitty had assured him that it wasn’t necessary. He could take a train.

And it’s a good thing, because Bitty’s one stop away from his final destination when the horrible realisation hits him: he’s about to see Jack’s new apartment for the first time, and he has no housewarming gift.

Jack’s his boyfriend, for Christ’s sake. He can’t arrive empty handed. Lardo isn’t dating Jack and Bitty knows she’s already working on an art piece for him. What kind of man is Bitty?

Bitty doesn’t think. He gets off at the next stop. He’s carrying his suitcase with him through the streets, but he doesn’t care. He needs a housewarming gift.

He doesn’t want something tacky like a houseplant. He also doesn’t want something basic from the IKEA. It’s the first time they’re seeing each other since the Fourth of July. It has to be memorable.

Bitty’s been walking around for a while now. He can’t stay too long or Jack might get worried, but he’s entered several shops and he can’t find anything.

His eyes fall on a Target.

“No,” Bitty says to himself, “Over my dead gay body.”

* * *

Bitty arrives an hour later, holding a bag from Target. He rings the bell and he gets buzzed in. Jack opens the door.

“Jesus, Bits, I was getting worried,” Jack says, but then he hugs Bitty.

“I’m finally here!” Bitty says, “And I got you a present.”

Jack pulls back. “You didn’t have to.”

“But I wanted to.”

Jack steps away so that Bitty can enter the apartment, which is big, and it has a great view. Is it possible to fall in love with an apartment, because this one might be the dream.

Jack closes the door behind him while Bitty takes it all in. “This certainly isn’t the Haus.”

“No, it’s not.”

Then Bitty holds out the plastic Target back. “Sorry. Real housewarming gift will come later, but for now, this will have to do.”

“Again, you didn’t have to,” Jack says, but he has a curious look on his face. He takes the bag and he starts laughing when he sees what’s in it.

“[A shower curtain with hockey pucks](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fsociety6.com%2Fproduct%2Fpucks-geometries-society6-hockey-sport_shower-curtain&t=ZGJhZmY4NGM4ZGVhNDNmYTM2MTlkNWI4ODA2Zjk3YzQxN2M2ZmUwOCxuWGpnVE1QYg%3D%3D&b=t%3A1_FbMVvKlyXyfeQlKE-AmQ&p=http%3A%2F%2Fforabeatofadrum.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F180624006998%2Fzimbits-september-updates-shower-curtain&m=1)? Ha ha.”

To Bitty’s surprise, Jack seems to really love his silly gift. He takes it out of the bag and he’s looking at it in awe.

“You like it?” Bitty asks, hopefully.

“It’s amazing,” Jack says earnestly.

Bitty smiles widely and he feels relieved. “Oh. Good.”

“There’s only one problem though,” Jack says as he’s still admiring the crazy shower curtain.

Bitty’s eyes widen. “What?”

“This apartment only has a bathtub.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the story of how Jack Zimmermann renovated his bathroom so that he could have a shower.
> 
> I can’t believe I googled “stores where you can buy shower curtains” for this.


End file.
